Southern California -- this just in

Police investigating possible hate crime against gay man in Hollywood

March 18, 2012 | 12:45
pm

Los Angeles police are investigating a possible hate crime against a gay man, who reported he was attacked early Sunday morning in Hollywood.

Around 1:30 a.m., the man was approached by three assailants near the intersection of Cahuenga Boulevard and Yucca Street, said Sgt. Sal Ogaz of the Los Angeles Police Dept.’s Hollywood Division. One of the suspects asked the man whether he was gay and, when he said he was, the three attacked him, Ogaz said.

The attackers left when a witness intervened and the man took a cab to a nearby hospital, according to Ogaz. His condition was not known, but Ogaz said he did not believe the injuries were serious.

In October, a handful of similar sounding attacks in West Hollywood led some in the community to warn of a spike in attacks on gays. West Hollywood’s mayor downplayed those fears at the time, saying there was no evidence the attacks were related or a signal of a broader surge in violence against gays in the region.